YOUNGSTERS from across Middlesbrough have been showing off new talents they have learned after the school bell has rung.

Students taking advantage of an out-of-hours learning project have been displaying their new-found skills, such as judo, steel band music and crime scene investigation.

Five schools, Acklam Grange Secondary, Green Lane, Park End, Sunniside and Viewley Hill primaries, have received a quality assurance award from the council for the standard of their after-school groups.

Middlesbrough Council's study support co-ordinator, Linda Innes, said: "Out-of-hours activities in Middlesbrough range from crime-scene investigation, thinking skills, junk percussion, steel drumming, horse riding and circus skills. These all have a major impact on pupils' enthusiasm and willingness to learn."

At Tuesday's event, pupils from Abingdon Primary gave a judo demonstration, Viewley Hill sang Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, while African drumming was performed by Park End.